Trial of God: The Decision
Hours after Lord Olivia was released, Carlito Play and the rest of the S-Class Mages of the Pantheon went to the Toveri Alliance. "Members of the Toveri Alliance, I called this meeting to ask for assistance in a matter of great urgency." Carlito sat at the table only for the Guildmasters of the guilds. The confusion was think in the room. "May I ask why Nikolai isn't here, and you mages stand in his place?" Samarra Inari asks with a slight raise of her eyebrow. "I am scared to think that the answer to my question is the reason you called this meeting..." The sense of worry for the fellow guildmaster was evident in her tone. "I become acting Guildmaster when Nikolai takes jobs or personal trips. His son-in-law Lord Olivia was released and he went after him. As you know, Nikolai's guild was granted special privileges by the Magic Council and the King of Flore. Well his son-in-law lost control over his magic and was sealed away years ago. Now he is free and I doubt he will live. He left all the Guildmasters hundreds of millions of Jewels." Still unsure of what Carlito was discussing, Samarra looked on with confusion. "Let me see if I am understanding you correctly...So you are saying that Nikolai has left on a job that could possibly kill him in order to seal away his son-in-law again? What has him so concerned that he has already distrubuted his assets? I am sure a capable master such as Nikolai would be able to handle a family dispute." "Lord Olivia stole Supreme Spell: God of Mischief it's a spell in the rank of Etherion and the Eclipse Gate. Even I don't know what it is exactly. However if that magic item is activated it will be horrible. It is the treasure of the guild, a forever lasting spell. Even if all of Earthland lost its magic, the spell on the Lacrima will never break. All I know it holds the spirit of a god. Hence why Nikolai named the guild Pantheon and gave all the S-Class Mages and himself eternal youth. Lord Olivia is strong enough to unleash the spirit. He gave use the funds to stop him if he fails." "Just what are you implying that we should do?" Tristan Scalibur said in a calm manner. "Are we suppose to wait for the end result of Master Nikolai's mission before taking action?" "I'm sure his plan will work, and if it doesn't that's when we jump in and assist I assume." Alden Virkov was confident in his words this being his first major meeting he's joined since having his guild Purple Phoenix join the Toveri Alliance. "Even then i'm sure this spirit can't best me..." Alden looked cocky even though half his face was hidden by a mask. Aether sat, pondering everyone's statements. "So this Lord Olvia is dangerous. How is it that this man managed to escape captivity, and how do we put him back in his prison?" "Prison isn't that most accurate term, said Carlito." He looked around the room. " I guess it's time to tell them what happened. Years ago, when I was still a child Sasha Ichor, Lord Olivia, Myself and Drake Emryst went on a S-Class job together. I don't know all what happened, but Sasha was killed which was Nikolai's daughter and Lord Olivia's wife. Lord Olivia then lost control over his God's Body Magic. You see into my research I learned something about people like us. All the members of the Pantheon have no Edolas counterparts, this is common knowledge. However we feel greater emotions than others, for even on a metaphysical level our bodies and brains sense we are anomalies brought forth from the flow of Life and Death. This is why Nikolai is so strong in his emotions. It took me years to control mine when I found out the truth. Lord Olivia and Nikolai are both within the Spriggan 12 level of Magic Power. Even Drake, myself, Vance Kervic, Eve Annex, Pietro Carrion, and Selina Wasureru all the S-Class Mages of Pantheon couldn't stop Lord Olivia let alone Master Nikolai. We must prepare as Nikolai wants to seal him up, to find away of healing him. Every second he is awake, every cell in his body is in pain. Add that to his mental state, you got a wounded animal with a WMD. I called this meeting, as together we stand about 35% of preventing their battle. Even if Nikolai wins, it's never is a good thing for such powerful mages battling." Suddenly a thought projection of Numair appeared. As the Thought projection appeared a small squirrel climbed into Numair's Chair. "sorry about the late arrival i am helping my Daughter establish her guild" Numair said. "So what have i missed?". "In the spirit of cooperation I came to you. Nikolai would have exploded if I told the Alliance this before he failed. You don't understand what I am saying. Supreme Spell: God of Mischief is a Lacrima that is the exact opposite to Fairy Heart. It doesn't give off infinite Magic Power. It can contain an infinite amount, it is the result of the god sealed inside. Nikolai for years has blessed it with Magic Power. Who knows how much at this point. Now this is why Lord Olivia stole it. Between the amount of Magic Power the Lacrima already has. Lord Olivia's already strong power and Nikolai's Creator's Eye he already has all the components to revive Sasha, without breaking Anhksearm's Laws. "So he would bring back his Lover? Is there really anything wrong with? Sorry I just got here so I don't understand everything but if he is just reviving a long lost love I don't see a problem with that necessarily." Numair said. The squirrel just stared at everyone. "To avoid the repercussions of Anhkseram one must become a god. Image a wounded animal with such power with no impulse control. That is what awaits us if the Magic is released and that is the best case. Worst case, the god inside his released which is far worse." "Hmmm cloud what do you think" Numair says asking the squirrel. hmmmmm I want know why Lord Oliver was released whether accidental or not I must know. And for my second question is why didn't Nikolai think of removing his brother-in-laws immortality what is he a blind idiot. The Squirrel said telepathically to everyone. "He was released unknowning by Hyperion Lucis, a fool Nikolai beat once already. As to why, taking away the immortality kills the holder. Like Magic it's too intertwined with the very life of the caster. I suspect he planned on using the Lacrima himself to heal Lord Olivia, but didn't store enough Magic Power in it yet." "Hyperion," said Aether. "Dragon Gunfire defeated Othrys two months ago. I didn't think they would get back on their feet so quickly. I defeated Cronus myself." Drake Emryst, Pantheon's ace burst through the doors to the meeting room where all of the Guildmaster's were congregated. Out of breath, huffing between his large intakes of air he said, "Sorry I'm late. Carlito has already filled you in." Drake made his way to Carlito, who was the current acting Guildmaster for their guild and whispered something in his ear. Drake then turned his attention to the Guildmaster's, "Like Carlito said together were about thirty-five percent capable of preventing this battle. Theirs one other person who could help, a Wizard Saint who is a friend of mine and Nikolai's, but I don't know if he would help." Drake fell back onto the floor once he finished, gasping for air, and anybody who could sense magic could tell that Drake was dangerously low on it. "I am curious to know the motives behind Nikolai..? You speak of his actions in giving you all eternal life; but as I understand, if he stops casting the spell it's effects would be voided? Yes it may kill the caster, but wouldn't that be the solution that would save the highest percentage of lives, considering this Lord Olivia is that big of a threat? Why would he choose his own life over the lives of other, should the battle come down to that?" Samarra pauses to give the mages time to think over her questions. "Also, you say that Nikolai has been 'feeding' this lacrima, so to speak... I question his moral sense in the fact that he is consciously supporting a spell that would ultimately cause the destruction of so many, when he has the power to reverse it's reality with his Creator's Eye, correct?" Samarra says with a stern and questioning look to the existing mages. She massages her forehead out of frustration. "As far as the battle goes, I do not like the look of our odds. Being the closest confidants of Nikolai, I assume you all are fairly familiar with his power and capable of doing an accurate assessment of his abilities. Seeing that you say we only have a 35% chance of being successful of prevent a battle for a man who's morals I am now beginning to question, leaves me very uneasy. Given the probability that the outcome will be unfavorable, I would like to trust that Nikolai understands how the spell works and will divert the battle to a location where the casualties would be the fewest." Samarra lets out a very disgruntled sigh. "Feel free to say anything to calm my worries. Yes, I know of this Wizard Saint you speak of, he is a friend of mine as well, but based off the knowledge we have, and the prior suggestions I made, I feel that Nikolai is the only one suited to handle such an event. Even with the help of Shojiro, our chances may only slightly improve, and we are still walking in blind to any effects of this so called supreme spell, that no one knows about. Any involvement of our guilds would leave us with far greater losses than I am willing to endure." She looks around the room for any sense of agreement or dispute. Having caught his breath Drake pulled himself to a sitting position on the floor. "Being the closest to Nick, we've been friends for more than eighty years now, even I cant say for certain why he's acting like this or done some of the things that he's done." Drake let his head drop his chest as he let out an aggravated, irritated, and frustrated sigh. Lifting to his feet Drake addressed the people in the room again, "All I can say for certain is that after Sasha's death Nikolai changed." Drake said as he though about his relationship with Nikolai. "He was cold then like now, but he was far less secretive. Sasha's death hit him hard, and he changed significantly because of it. But know this, Nikolai would never let his problems effect the innocent." Drake finished with a stern, resolute resolve that showed how much he trusted his friend. Tristan looked at Samarra and then towards Carlito, not saying a single word. Samarra does bring up a good ppoint but is your calculations based on what you assume the others powers are because I'd like to inform that although as a squirrel I may seem weak I am probably the Strongest member of Harpy Wing and do not like being thought of as insignificant. He said ttelepathicall as he released the pressure of a Wizard Saints magic power in the room. ''I'm sorry madam if I seem to be causing a fight this whole affair just aggravates both me and Numair, ''he says ttelepathically only to Samarra making it were she only hears this. Carlito sighs. "He is the source of our eternal youth, his Creator's Eye is restricted to the level of his Magic Power like all magic. He can't just do whatever he wants. Besides like I said, on a metaphysical level we unique people feel far greater levels of hope, love, hatred, and despair than anyone else. When Sasha died Lord Olivia went insane and Nikolai felt guilty. Image feeling like you cause an accident that resulted in one death. For people like Nikolai, Lord Olivia, Drake, Myself, Vance, Eve, Pietro or Selina. It would be like the guilt of causing an accident, that resulted in 100 people dying. I am able to seal most of my emotions, but Nikolai never did. His Magic is directly equal in strength by how much he feels. As to why he never stopped feeding the Lacrima. The spell is also dependent on how much Magic is inside the object. No Magic Power, the Trickster God will be free. That is why he never used it." Carlito looked at the Guildmasters. "It was up to me to deal with it ourselves or come here. Remember the privileges of Pantheon supersedes the Alliance's rules. So normally we keep these troubles in house. However this time, even I don't know what to do. Help or not is your call. Though Nikolai helped last time, and you mocked him for his opinion. He wanted to leave the Alliance, Nikolai rarely trusts anyone ever. He stayed though as he feels responsible for it. This is why he is trying to fix it himself." Carlito then asked them a question. "Are we anomalies so unimportant you won't help? I mean of millions of living people and creatures there are very few of us. We are no different biologically to other Earthland humans. Others will be born in time. This what we feel at all times on some level. Now I leave the decision to the Guildmasters." "I feel insulted," said Aether. "Insulted you think that we wouldn't help event the smallest percentage of people. I know what it feels like to be overcome with emotion, and I'm quite sure I do have an Edolas counterpart. I pledge that we will defeat Lord Olvia, and save Nikolai as well." "Remember this also, we come for help to stop Lord Olivia. Not to kill him, he hasn't done anything wrong...yet." "I can agree with Aether. Distraught emotions are no stranger to us, so you do not need to appeal to our humanity. We are all unique and have our own identities not shared by any Edolas, Hylion, or Earthland mage; making us all anomalies in some way. I was just curious as to how the spell works, since you previously mentioned that you had no knowledge of its function. But now that you have enlightened us with that surprise knowledge of the lacrima, I do see that there is no way to reverse it's fate..." Samarra says with a distraught look. She looks to her other alliance members to try and gauge their feelings on the matter. "Well I still have reservations about the risk posed to our guilds, given the slim chance of success, but I will no turn my eye away from a friend in need. I will cast my vote to help Nikolai. And save Lord Olivia somehow..." "I wasn't clear I see, I said even I don't what it is exactly. That is true, I don't know what kind of power or weapon the item is. Only that it can be used as one. I only know the base functions of the magic item. The last time it was released was over 1000 years ago when Nikolai's ancestors sealed it away." "As a being also with no Edolian counterpart i shall choose to help. I'm half Edolian half Earthland but I choose not to explain my background only know I choose to help you" Numair said finally talking after he heard all that was said. ''well since you agree I'm going then, ''Cloud said Telepathically to Numair "Just cause we don't know what the magic does shouldn't be a reason to worry our guild wizards go on jobs all the time not knowing the dangers they'll face in the process. This is no different, we'll face it head on." Tristan said trying to ease the tension and worry of the others. Tristan had an brave look on his face, showing no worries or fear what so ever. "Something else you don't know. Both Lord Olivia and Nikolai have Anti-Ethernano tumors inside of them. That is why Lord Olivia is in so much pain. Nikolai kept him a state of statics to keep him alive. Nikolai invented ways to remove them, making him the only person in Ishgar that can. However Lord Olivia's is so advanced even his Creatoe's Eye can't yet find a way to cure it. Nikolai hasn't even cure himself of the one he has gotten this year." This was something unknown to even Drake or the other S-Class mages. With a raise of her eyebrow, Samarra looks at Carlito with a puzzled expression, still not in tune with his random outbursts of facts. "I am not sure how that relates to the matter at hand, seeing as we can do nothing about that due to the limited knowledge on such tumors, but I will pray for their good health." "Lord Olivia's entire body is like one, God's Body is a Magic that affects the entire body. As for Nikolai's his Creator's Eye creates one in his brain every few years. So even if we find them, I know the spell that can fix them. In my research I discovered a Magic that can neutralize the build up of Tumors completely and forever. However as only acting Guildmaster I don't have the same privileges as Nikolai. According to the by-laws I need approval of the Alliance to use it. It's an illegal magic after all." Adding reasons to why he brought it up. "Anti-eternano tumors," said Aether. "Why hadn't he notified us of this sooner?" "Master Nikolai is a private Mage. Besides he undoes the tumors by rewriting reality that like it never happened. He can't just make himself immune, even with his Creator's Eye. That would require very obscure knowledge." Said Carlito. Fixing the sight of his gun Alden spoke "So, you want our permission to use this tumor eraser magic, and you want us to distract whoever it is that has this lacrima? I'm fine with that should kill some time for me." Alden spoke calmly while he may not have been entirely paying attention he figured helping out would be considered a kind thing to do. "Let's put it to a vote then," said Aether. "Heaven's Garden is the name of the spell. It's considered one of the Greatest White Arts and an ultimate healing spell. Lord Nikolai created this spell, however he can't use it on himself. Furthermore it deals with a convergent of life force from the caster and outside living organism. I learned it, but the Magic Council dubbed it an illegal Magic. For if done wrong it could reverse and it could steal the life force of all the lifeforms with a large area. Which then could lead the caster, turning into Magic Dirty Bomb. Leaving the area too polluted with dangerous Ethernano for years. Only Nikolai can cast it legally, but the By-Laws allow exceptions for the acting Guildmaster as long as they get approval from the alliance." "Well as long as Nikolai is able to direct the fight to a rather deserted place, as far as humans go, I will vote yes. Only because the sacrifice of the plants and animals used in this spell will help save countless more lives..." Samarra said. " You got it backwards, the spell will uses my lifeforce to restore and heal the damage done to other lifeforms and even inorganic material objects. If someone casts it wrong, the affect I described is what could happen." Said Carlito. "I do understand. Hence why I feel it is needed to take necessary precautions to preserve human life. Because it has been illegal for any mage besides Nikolai to cast this spell, and the fact that the alliance had not been asked for permission for use of the spell prior to this, I can assume that you have not had the realistic practice to ensure that the spell will be properly executed. With the high stress of the situation, and the matter that this spell has not been used by you before, I felt it was necessary to vocalize my conditions of agreement. Not that I don't have faith in your abilities, I just feel we should rather be safe than sorry." Samarra explained. "Technically I have used the spell under the the supervision of Nikolai. However I never used it on other humans before. So of course we should remove this operation from any and everyone. I even have a plan, I'll send everyone into another Space-time. I learned the Arc of Kingdoms for dangerous jobs. However Nikolai created a Creator's Eye spell God of the Moon. A spell the replicates the Moon Drip spell the only spell that can break people out my created worlds. So once we get in it will an all distraction. However I should warn you, between the higher emotions felt by none-counterparts and his brain tumor at the stage development it is in. He will far more dangerous than Lord Olivia and stronger. I don't expect everyone to survive, if anyone wishes to back out now is the time. I have made some precautions so I only expect myself to be the only real possible casualty, but they aren't guaranteed." ''So this heaven's of Garden uses a person's life force and a person's Eterano to heal others. Kinda reminds me of how i can heal using the Eterano in the air through my LifeStream Magic. Hmm If you taught me it i could use it probably with efficeincy, although i could just use everyone's, or just the guild master's, Etherano to heal the surrounding area so that way it wouldn't kill the caster, ''Cloud said telepathically to everyone. "Hmmm thats a good plan" Numair said.